c++ scandir is filling my memory up - c++

Question

I use a function I implemented in my class:
bool MyClass::getNextFile(string& s_first_file, const char* c_path_data){
//string s_first_file = "";
struct dirent **namelist;
string s_file_actual = "";
int n;
int i=0;
n = scandir(c_path_data, &namelist, dataFilter, alphasort);
if (n < 0){
//perror("scandir");
return false;
}else{
while (i<n) {
s_file_actual = namelist[i++]->d_name;
if(i==1){
cout << "get file " << s_file_actual << "..." << endl;
s_first_file = s_file_actual;
}
}
free(namelist[i-1]);
return true;
}
}
In my c++ programm I use the following:
...
MyClass myc;
...
int main(){
while(myc.getNextFile(s_first_file, c_path_data)){
s_first_file << endl;
}
return 1;
}
What happens is that my ram memory get fuller and fuller as long as the function is called every time again.
If I put the code directly it in the main It searches the next first occouring file and don't collect that much memory.
Any hint what I am missing here?
Thank you very much.

Answer 1

You should do something like this;
while (i<n)
{
s_file_actual = namelist[i++]->d_name;
if (i==1)
{
cout << "get file " << s_file_actual << "..." << endl;
s_first_file = s_file_actual;
}
free(namelist[i-1]);
}
free(namelist);
return true;

Answer 2

while (i<n) {
s_file_actual = namelist[i++]->d_name;
if (i==1) {
cout << "get file " << s_file_actual << "..." << endl;
s_first_file = s_file_actual;
}
}
free(namelist[i-1]);
return true;
Whoops!
I'm not sure how it happened, but you put your free in the wrong place and forgot the other one.
Per the manpage, you need to free(namelist[i-1]) inside the loop … and perform a free(namelist) at the end.